Kwon-Chung K J, Hill W B, Bennett J E
J Clin Microbiol. 1981 Feb;13(2):383-7. doi: 10.1128/jcm.13.2.383-387.1981.
The Masson-Fontana silver stain for melanin was employed for the differentiation of pathogenic fungal species in human or mouse tissues. The fungi studied were Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata (Torulopsis glabrata), Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus bacillisporus, Coccidioides immitis, Blastomyces dermatitidis, Histoplasma capsulatum, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Sporothrix schenckii, Rhizopus rhizopodiformis, and Aspergillus fumigatus. The tissue sections stained with Masson-Fontana silver stain showed a dark brown to black color in the wall of cryptococci, whereas the walls of remaining fungal species were hyaline, except for those of S. schenckii. The yeastlike cells of S. schenckii showed faint brown pigment on the wall. Cultures of these fungi showed staining characteristics identical to those of the in vivo results. Cultures of four nonpathogenic Cryptococcus species, Cryptococcus uniguttulatus, Cryptococcus laurentii, Cryptococcus terreus, and Cryptococcus luteolus, were also tested for staining by the Masson-Fontana procedure. Of these, only C. laurentii stained positively, and the pigment on the cell wall was as intense as that of the cells of C. neoformans. These results indicate that the Masson-Fontana silver stain can be used as a specific stain in the histological diagnosis of cryptococcosis.
采用用于黑色素的Masson-Fontana银染色法对人或小鼠组织中的致病真菌种类进行鉴别。所研究的真菌有白色念珠菌、热带念珠菌、光滑念珠菌（光滑球拟酵母菌）、新型隐球菌、芽孢隐球菌、粗球孢子菌、皮炎芽生菌、荚膜组织胞浆菌、巴西副球孢子菌、申克孢子丝菌、根足状根霉和烟曲霉。经Masson-Fontana银染色的组织切片显示，隐球菌壁呈深棕色至黑色，而其余真菌种类的壁呈透明状，但申克孢子丝菌除外。申克孢子丝菌的酵母样细胞在壁上显示出淡棕色色素。这些真菌的培养物显示出与体内结果相同的染色特征。还对四种非致病性隐球菌，即单孢隐球菌、罗伦隐球菌、土生隐球菌和浅黄隐球菌的培养物进行了Masson-Fontana染色测试。其中，只有罗伦隐球菌呈阳性染色，其细胞壁上的色素与新型隐球菌细胞的色素一样强烈。这些结果表明，Masson-Fontana银染色可作为隐球菌病组织学诊断中的一种特异性染色方法。
